Funding to Support Commercialization of a Series of Innovative Products for GI Endoscopy

NEWTON, MA--(Marketwire - Aug 1, 2011) - Beacon Endoscopic Inc., a developer of interventional GI and bronchial endoscopy products, announced that its London-based affiliate, Beacon Endoscopic Ltd., has secured $5 million in financing from MVM Life Science Partners, a London and Boston-based growth capital provider. The company also announced that it received a new round of capital from its existing investors.

In connection with the financing, Dr. Stephen Reeders, a founding partner at MVM, will join the board of Beacon Endoscopic Inc., alongside CEO Peter Rogal and co-founders Brian Tinkham and Christopher Thompson, MD.

Beacon has developed a series of products for the upper GI and bronchial endoscopy markets. The first of these, the BNX™ System, is a novel fine needle aspiration system (FNA) for use in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endoscopic bronchial ultrasound (EBUS). The EUS BNX™ System has received FDA clearance and will be launched in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2011. The new funding will allow the company to commercialize its products globally and benefit from the very fast growth in more complex upper GI endoscopic procedures. Beacon has designed its products to offer significant benefits to physicians and patients in developing, as well as mature, device markets.

"This is exactly the sort of investment we are looking to make," Dr. Reeders said. "The Beacon team is the best we have seen in this space; it has tremendous domain knowledge. Beacon's inventors, engineers, marketers and physician advisory board have really thought about customer needs during product development. This is the future of healthcare: better clinical performance matched with better efficiency for providers and payers."

"This new capital infusion will accelerate the global launch of the BNX System, supplementing our US commercialization efforts," Mr. Rogal said. "It is unusual for a young company such as Beacon to be able to address the European market as well as emerging markets such as Asia."